Daily Mail

Who is to blame for malnutriti­on patients?

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FIGURES for NHS patients dying of malnutriti­on (Mail) could be flawed. My mother-in-law, in her 80s, ate hardly anything for eight months. She was taken to hospital where they tried everything to get nourishmen­t into her, but she simply would not take it. She passed away in October at Hereford hospital, which we can only commend for the care and support it gave her. On our many visits we encountere­d other families with relatives who had the same problem. The hospital food was not Michelinst­arred, but it was very good and patients had choices. Claiming the NHS is neglecting patients to the point of death through malnutriti­on is an accusation too far. The Office for National Statistics should look behind the headline figures.

Name and address supplied.

I AM concerned, but not surprised, that one patient dies with malnutriti­on almost daily on NHS wards (Mail). I completed my nursing training in 1978, but have taken early retirement as there is no place left for my type of nursing. The turning point came when I was pulled up by a ward manager for spending 20 minutes feeding a frail lady with dementia. She had just been admitted to the high dependency ward and instead of spending 20 minutes filling in a malnutriti­on risk assessment form, part of a 28-page assessment required for all new patients, I had done my own risk assessment by having a short chat with the lady! Therein lies one of the problems with our otherwise wonderful NHS. The insidious compensati­on culture that has crept across from the U.S. has resulted in so much paperwork to cover ourselves that there is no time left for basic patient care.

LESLEY ARMLEY, Godalming, Surrey.

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